Senior Practitioner

Lead Social Worker – Children & Families

Location: Birmingham, West Midlands
Rate: £33.29 per hour (Umbrella)
Contract: Agency/Locum
Hours: Full Time

We are currently recruiting for an experienced Lead Social Worker to join a dedicated Children & Families team in Birmingham. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced children's social worker looking to take on a leadership role while managing a complex caseload and supporting the development of colleagues.

The Role

As a Lead Social Worker, you will play a key role in improving the quality of social work practice across the full casework journey for children, young people, and their families. You will manage complex cases, provide professional guidance to less experienced social workers, and help drive high standards of safeguarding practice across the team.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage an allocated caseload, including complex child protection and children in need cases.
• Deliver high-quality, needs-led social work interventions in line with statutory requirements and best practice.
• Complete assessments, care planning, reviews, and risk assessments to achieve positive outcomes for children and families.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and professional support to less experienced social workers.
• Promote high-quality practice through quality assurance and sharing professional expertise.
• Work collaboratively with partner agencies to ensure effective multi-agency safeguarding.
• Maintain accurate, timely, and high-quality case records and reports.
• Represent the local authority at meetings, case conferences, and court proceedings where required.
• Support the Team Manager with service delivery and continuous improvement initiatives.

Requirements

• Qualified Social Worker with a recognised Social Work qualification.
• Registered with Social Work England.
• Significant post-qualification experience within Children's Services.
• Experience managing complex safeguarding and child protection cases.
• Strong knowledge of relevant children's legislation, statutory guidance, and safeguarding procedures.
• Excellent assessment, analytical, communication, and report-writing skills.
• Ability to provide leadership, mentoring, and professional guidance within a busy team.

What's on Offer

• £33.29 per hour Umbrella
• Full-time agency contract
• Opportunity to work within a supportive and experienced Children & Families team
• Valuable leadership experience within a well-established local authority
• Regular supervision and ongoing professional development

If you are an experienced Children's Social Worker ready to take the next step in your career, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today or get in touch for more information about this exciting opportunity in Birmingham, West Midlands. Contact Natasha Haddon for more information.